How to pick locks and solve puzzles in Atomic Heart - how to open all the doors in the game

 

In Atomic Heart, castles are found at every turn. Some of them open shortcuts to return to the location, others hide drawings and various resources behind them. In this guide, we will look at all types of locks that are found in the game and tell you how to open them.

Note: Picking locks does not stop time in the game. This means that a robot passing nearby can notice P-3 and attack. Therefore, we advise you to start hacking only when you deal with all opponents nearby.

Over time, the castles in the game become more and more difficult, and sometimes you can get into a dead end. If this happened to you, move away from the door and activate the hack again by pressing F (X on the gamepad).

Also, sometimes the player may come across a reinforced castle containing two types of puzzles. You can switch between the latter using the keys A and D.

How to open a lock with clicks

The very first type of castles that is found in the game. To open such doors, you need to snap your fingers in time so that all the fuse pins are inside the mechanism, and the lights turn green.

The active pin is illuminated by a light, and at first, it is not difficult to click at the right time. Problems start when most of the lights are already green and the pins are in the right position - clicking at the wrong moment in this case unlocks the pin back, and it needs to be replaced.

Also note that with each successful activation of the fuse, the direction of movement of the light is reversed, and at first this can confuse you. We recommend focusing not on the picture, but on the sound.

In fact, the universal "key" for all locks of this type sounds like this: click-click-skip-click-skip-skip-click. First two clicks, then skip the metronome beat, then click again, skip two beats, click, and so on.

Over time, you will adapt and pick locks in seconds without even thinking. If you are having difficulty with them and you are afraid of not being in time, do not worry - if the time comes to an end, the fuses will simply return to their original positions, and you can try again.

How to pick a lock with colored dots

Perhaps this is the most difficult type of lock in the game since it is quite difficult to understand how this puzzle works. We need to arrange the colored dots so that their color matches the color of the dots on the fuses.

To do this, we have two actions available: turning the dial and moving three points relative to each other. Turning the dial shifts all points to the left or right by three positions. Moving three points is carried out at the bottom of the castle. Each click will "shift" the first two points to the right, and the third will move from the right border to the left. For clarity, we provide screenshots.

Often it is necessary to correctly position two or three points, which is not a difficult task. We advise you to first “connect” one pair, and then, starting from their location on the dial, select the rest of the colors.

Also note that each time the puzzle is activated, the colors and their location change, so if you get confused or the option proposed by the game turned out to be too difficult, you can simply exit the mini-game and start hacking again.

How to open graphic locks

These locks are an analogue of the graphic keys we are used to. To open them, you need to light certain bulbs. By the selection method, you are unlikely to be able to open such a door - there may be too many combinations. Next to such locks, you can always find a drawing with a hint, which indicates the necessary light bulbs.

Since P-3 does not have the habit of picking up any waste paper, you will either have to remember the right light bulbs or take a screenshot of the cipher in order to reproduce it later on the lock panel.

How to open a cookie lock. Where can I find the electronic key?

Cookie locks are similar to combination locks with dots, only you don't have to memorize anything. You just need to look around the location and find the cookie-shaped key, and then return to the castle. If you have the necessary key card in your inventory, Nechaev will insert it into the well and open the door.

There are only a few such castles in the entire game, and usually, we will somehow come across a place where cookies are “stored” in the story. An exception will be the entrance to the bunker of one of the landfills. The key that opens this door is in a far from obvious place. But you can check out this guide to find out how to open all the polygons in the game.

How to solve puzzles with power relays and rotary dials

Such locks at the enterprise locked hermetic doors to important parts of the complex. To open them, you must first solve a small puzzle. Several rotary disks and three lasers of different colors - red or green - will appear on the wall or on the floor. They will all converge at one point with three light bulbs.

The color of the lasers must match the color of the bulbs they focus on. That is, relatively speaking if the top and middle lights are green, then the lasers in the middle and top should have green beams at the focusing point.

This can be achieved by moving the turntables to F (RB). Some nodes have special marks that "split" the beam. We have highlighted them in the screenshot below. In this way, you can achieve the desired color in the focus area. Turntables move such splitters only up and down - moving them to the side will not work, but this is not necessary.

How to open a padlock with a keyhole

Keyholes are another rather simple type of locks that are found in regular offices of the Enterprise or in its residential part. If you have played The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim or the Fallout games (Fallout 3 and Fallout 4), then you will immediately understand the principle of hacking. It is necessary to move the mouse, adjusting the slope of the HRAZ antennae, and also periodically press the LMB to check if the lock lends itself.

If you see that the keyhole is turning more and more, you are on the right track. There are no master keys in the game, and with due perseverance, you can simply go through all possible positions.

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Of course, there are other castles in the game, but they are part of the plot and do not obey prescribed mechanics, but scripts. For example, to enter the next location of the Enterprise, we need to use telekinesis to move one of the statues away and have time to sneak into the opened passage before the statue falls into place.